Vítězslav Novák: Lady Godiva
Context
After finishing his popular tone poem Toman a lesní panna in 1907, a very urgent commission fell at Vítězslav Novák’s door. Jaroslav Vrchlický had written a play based on the story of Lady Godiva for the opening of the new Prague Municipal Theatre. The director of the new theatre, František Šubert, awarded two musical commissions for the opening occasion: Josef Bohuslav Foerster was the first, and he composed a Festival Overture for the event. Secondly, Novák was to compose a Concert Overture to the play, in which Lady Godiva, during the 11th century, rode naked through the streets of Coventry at midday as a protest against a tax levied by her husband, Count Leofric of Coventry.
This powerful work is one of Novák’s most popular, and unbelievably it was composed in just under two days! The work was premiered on November 24 1907 by the Czech Philharmonic.
The Music
Opening with a powerful brass theme, Lady Godiva gets off to a roaring start. Throughout this piece Novák utilises each and every voice in the orchestra. From the rip-roaring brass entries to the tender woodwind interludes, the music is spread across sections to create rich textures and exciting twists and turns. Throughout this 16 minute piece, Novák takes the listener on quite the adventure. After the aggressive opening comes a delicate lyrical section led by a solo clarinet. Novák’s rich string writing plays into his neo-classicism style as huge sweeps of sound cloaks the orchestra.
Sonorous harmonies complement interesting melodies to create an unforgettable soundscape. Novák’s use of the brass in particular is bold and his use of muted trumpets during certain sections adds a new dimension to the ever-changing texture of the piece. The quiet sections are a huge shift and often come unexpectedly. The softness of Novák’s pen shows just how versatile he was as a composer. A reprise of the lyrical theme sees Lady Godiva conclude quietly and with much dignity pierced through the last tutti chords, headed by the woodwind.
Ⓒ Alex Burns
Happy Reading!
You might also enjoy… Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No.9 (‘From the New World’)
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